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Category: Pets

I’m tall. It’s taken me many, many years to get comfortable with being tall. Short women seem to have it easy; they can find pants that are long enough, they can find cute shoes in their size, most men seem tall to them, etc. etc.

But there are times when being tall has it’s advantages and I’m not going to lie, most of them happen in the grocery store. From the time I was a teen, I’ve learned to recognize that relieved look a shorter person would have when I started down an aisle. As soon as I was close enough they’d ask me to get an item from the top shelf for them. Or one close to the top but near the back of the shelf.

It’s been a while though, since I’ve used my height and arms for the good of myself or another in the grocery store. So it was nice today, when I went shopping and came upon the milk. All the milks I could see had an expiration date that wouldn’t get them through to the next time I needed to go to the store. I almost decided to go without milk but then I noticed a rack of milk further back in the refrigerator. If I stepped in just slightly, I would be able to reach a milk on the top shelf of that second rack. So I did it! I got a milk with an expiration date that will get me through almost two weeks! I put the milk in my cart, feeling pretty good about my amazonian arms when I noticed an older gentlemen looking at me, it was clear he had just witnessed what I had done. He asked if the date was better on those and I confirmed they were. Then he asked if I would get him one too. No problem! I got him one and then we talked briefly about why this matters (neither of us use a lot of milk so it’s nice to have it last as long as possible). I could tell he was awed by my ability and maybe by my refusal to accept the expiration date offered me.

This is my life now – changing diapers, medicating a cat, chasing a toddler, and fighting against the grocery man and his expiration dates…it’s a pretty good life.

Since Gertie was born, the cat's been peeing on the couch. As you can imagine, I'm not too happy. I cleaned the couch and have had to keep plastic covering on it, which is annoying. I tried several things, everything really, to keep him from peeing. Finally, a friend suggested taking him to the vet. Just to ensure it wasn't a bladder infection (of course I think he'd be peeing EVERYWHERE if that was the case) and to possibly put him on Prozac. I didn't want to do it for a few reasons – one was expense (because I'm a terrible person) and also I wasn't sure we couldn't stop the behavior with everything else. But one failure after the next and I was on the phone making an appointment. I took him at the end of last week. Grandma watched the kids while we were there. The car ride home was intense. A cat who hates traveling in the cat carrier, a tired baby, and a toddler who hates when his sister cries. I took a video to prove it. I was losing my mind but it was also funny. Diagnosis: kitty to be put on Prozac for 1.5 months to try to correct the problem. Will update soon.